Goodbye 2020, hello 2021!

2020 is coming to an end and many will say: good riddance! For me, this is an opportunity to open milesopedia’s doors and share with you some memories of this year.

After 3 weeks in South Africa, on December 31, 2019, Audrey, the children and I were in Singapore, the second country we crossed on our round-the-world trip as a family.

As the clock ticked in the sky behind the Marina Bay Sands, I thought back to the decade that was coming to an end and the accomplishments that had been made:

• Getting married to Audrey
• Moving to Canada
• Our daughter’s birth
• Creating milesopedia.com
• Canadian Citizenship
• Our son’s birth
• milesopedia: a full time business for me

We might as well tell you that 2010-2019 was a great decade for us, full of changes! And on the evening of December 31, 2019, I happily welcomed this new year, 2020. And I’m sure that was the case for many of you!

From January to March, our family trip continued: Malaysia, Cambodia, Bali, New Zealand, Australia. And we had found our rhythm by remotely managing milesopedia.com while living a traveling family life with young children (3 and 5 years old)! This prepared us for a hasty return home in mid-March 2020.

In a few hours, we went from the Australian desert of Uluru and its +40 degrees – and a carefree climate – to the -20 degrees of Montreal and its heavy atmosphere. The return to reality was brutal. But we were healthy, and at home. My mission as a father was thus fulfilled.

In spite of this incomplete world tour, the children returned home with memories in their heads: they discovered the wild animals of the Kruger Park in South Africa, tasted many delicious dishes in Kuala Lumpur, Cambodia and Bali, visited the ruins of the Angkor temples.

They surprised us in New Zealand when they marveled at the outdoor scenery despite the long hours on the road. They have come closer to each other, as brother and sister, and are inseparable today.

And this trip allowed us to feel closer to them.

So I can’t complain at all: in spite of a round-the-world trip shortened by two months, we really enjoyed it.

Contrary to many milesopedians who could not travel in 2020.

After years of growth, milesopedia.com faced its biggest crisis between March and the summer of 2020. And we weren’t the only ones, as Prince of Travel testifies, the counterpart of milesopedia in the English blogosphere.

Who was thinking about travel at that time, as milesopedia was mainly interested in programs and credit cards with a definite tangent towards the travel industry?

So we had to reinvent ourselves: offer content that was as close as possible to the concerns of our readers. So the majority of our articles focused on everyday life programs and current topics: trip cancellations, AIR MILES, PC Optimum, cash back, online grocery shopping, food delivery, etc.

But like many of you, what has been most challenging in this period has been teleworking with children. While traveling, we could go out, entertain them in hotel pools, beaches, but it was not possible in Montreal during the lockdown.

Especially since we have no support from the family, since they live in France.

During the summer of 2020, life gradually resumed its course, as did activity on milesopedia.com and in its community.

Summer travel would be Canadian! How many of you went on the Conquest of Western Canada? Or simply to rediscover our Beautiful Province?

We ourselves took the opportunity to discover many hotels and destinations in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta: the members of milesopedia had points and status to travel, as long as it serves as a way to get some fresh air in the country!

And for my part, I went alone to France in September, alongside my mother. And will do it again soon this winter. In order to be present in the moments that count and that are difficult. Or the art of combining the life of an entrepreneur, father and son, all this with an ocean that separates us.

From mid-March 2020, there was a very clear turnaround: travel was set aside in favor of cash back. And this trend remained the same for much of the year.

As a result, we’ve had some surprising statistics on milesopedia.com compared to other years, but we’ve also seen a great deal of community support.

The strength of milesopedia.com is its community: it’s very close-knit.

Our members are ready to help each other, they’re always in a good mood and friendly. This is rare today when we see some Facebook pages or groups, whose atmosphere just makes you want to unsubscribe! With milesopedia, this is not the case!

And this is thanks to you! We must add that the moderation team also has a lot to do with this good-natured atmosphere: Brigitte, Caroline, Frédéric, Jean-François. Just like the members who have been here for many years now, and are always loyal to us!

And what about our authors who send us many articles to publish every week to inspire you!

We couldn’t meet in 2020 with the Milesopedia Mini Conventions or 5@7, but we hosted a lot of Facebook Live events. Let’s hope that 2021 marks the resumption of these events, in person!

Looking back at the year 2020, we can say that we’ve come a long way: milesopedia.com traffic is finally much higher than in 2019, even after the spring crisis we faced!

And we are not slowing own… quite the opposite. Partnerships are multiplying in every respect, as are the projects we set in motion. So much so that Audrey decided to go full time, alongside me, so that together we could carry out our game plan! A risky bet for the relationship, as some told us… But as we have just celebrated our 10 years of marriage, we have never been so close to each other! It’s a breath of fresh air blowing over the milesopedia brand.

And I can tell you that 2021 promises to be very full of new features… more to come soon 😉

2020 has not been an easy year for many. We feel fortunate to have made it through, ans to be even stronger than we were in 2019.

I no longer dare to make any predictions about the new year ahead. But I still have a good hope that 2021 will be a year of renewal!

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. Thank you for following us. Thank you for sharing our content. Thank you for being part of the great milesopedia family. And we wish you an excellent year 2021!